TALK RADIO WATCH

Forget 'socialist,' just call Obama 'corrupt'

Exclusive: Kathy Shaidle covers America's hottest on-air discussions

Kathy Shaidle is a blogging pioneer whose FiveFeetOfFury.com is now in its 12th year. Her most recent book â€“ "The Tyranny of Nice: How Canada Crushes Freedom in the Name of Human Rights, and Why It Matters to Americans" â€“ features an introduction by Rush Limbaugh guest host Mark Steyn.

“Do you have any idea of the corruption under the Obama administration?” Michael Savage asked listeners this week, after reading off a list of just a few of its scandals.

He suggested a new way to look at the current administration: “Forget the word ‘socialist.’ Forget the word ‘communist.’ Just use the c-word: ‘corruption'” (FREE audio).

Savage also expressed his exasperation with the man challenging Obama for the White House, as well as the nation’s many clueless voters: Winning in November, he said, “should be a sure thing, but with Romney plodding along like Mr. Country Club, I don’t know if he’s going to win.

“I drive around here in the Bay Area, I see idiots with ‘Obama – Biden’ bumper stickers, and I feel like shouting out, ‘Haven’t you heard of “Fast and Furious”? Haven’t you heard of Solyndra? Haven’t you heard of the SEAL team being killed?'” Savage said. “But it’s pointless” (FREE audio).

Rush Limbaugh

“Catholic nuns have gone feminazi!”

Rush Limbaugh used one of his favorite insults to castigate a group of ultra-progressive Roman Catholic sisters whose conflicts with the Vatican have been making news.

Limbaugh laughed off CBS News’ assertion that “protests in support of the nuns have been held in almost 50 cities.”

“Have you heard about any of this?” Limbaugh asked rhetorically. “Do you know what the nuns are doing? The nuns have gone feminazi on everybody. This small group of nuns in the Catholic Church is going feminist, and the Vatican is obviously – well, a figure of speech, slapping them down. And the Vatican is trying to tamp it down and say, ‘No, no, no, that doesn’t happen. There’s no such thing as a feminist nun'” (FREE audio).

He predicts that this explosive book will put him “at the center of the 2012 election storm.”

Also on the air, Klein revealed more information about Barack Obama’s involvement in a socialist political party during the 1990s and provided a shocking update about his story regarding one international corporation’s involvement in counting votes in American elections (FREE audio).

Mark Levin

Do you want Mitt Romney to choose Jeb Bush as his vice-presidential running mate? That was Mark Levin’s poll question to listeners. The results were decisive: 92 percent answered “no.”

Attorney General Eric Holder has asked two prosecutors to uncover the source of recent leaks of sensitive intelligence to the New York Times, but Mark Levin isn’t buying it. This move, says Levin, is “intended to diffuse the situation and create ambiguity” rather than get to the bottom of things. His preferred course of action would be to treat this situation like the Democrats treated the (far less important) Scooter Libby case and appoint a special prosecutor (FREE audio).

Laura Ingraham

Are traditionally Democratic voters abandoning Obama? Bill Kristol, founder of The Weekly Standard, said yes, and explained why to Laura and her listeners.

Donald Trump, mogul of reality TV and real estate, joined Laura to talk about Gov. Jeb Bush’s harsh criticisms of the Republican Party, while Sen. Rick Santorum revealed that he hasn’t spoken to Mitt Romney since he dropped out of the presidential race (Santorum also has something to say about Madonna’s ridiculous “flashing” incident in, of all places, Istanbul!) (FREE audio).

Glenn Beck

He may no longer be a fixture on America’s TV screens, but Glenn Beck’s radio show is still going strong and will be for another five years. He just renewed his radio contract with Premiere Networks for a cool $100 million.

“After conservative talk’s incredible success over the past two decades,” he writes, “one might think those now overseeing ABC Radio’s AM stations would build upon that legacy. Instead, they’re actively destroying it from within.”

Sounds pretty drastic! What’s going on?

Maloney reports that major talk radio corporation Cumulus is giving the man he calls a “notorious huckster” – that is, Geraldo Rivera – is own live nation-wide morning radio show.

The trouble is, says Maloney, that Geraldo just isn’t the ratings magnet executives seem to think he is.

Maloney points to just-released data from the industry’s official monitor: “According to Arbitron, KABC’s morning programming averages 14,800 listeners six and older per quarter-hour from 9-10am. When Rivera takes over at 10am, that figure immediately drops to 6,600 and remains stuck there until the conclusion of his show at noon.

“When Sean Hannity airs at noon, listenership shoots straight back up to an 18,300 average per quarter-hour,” the data continues. “By the end of his show, Hannity’s number has increased to 22,200. Larry Elder fares even better at 3pm, with 26,500.”

Maloney wonders why Cumulus is investing what likely amounts to millions of dollars on the 69-year-old “journalist.” Soon, listeners around America may be asking the same question.